So youre not a frequent flyer who racks up all those miles and points and rewards.
Youll never be a member of the million-mile club.
You dont belong to some airlines Elite Premier Advantage Gold AirMiles Alliance Priority Rewards program.
Kristy Gaunt – The Penny Hoarder
You dont do this a lot.You just need to book a flight.
How do you get the best deal possible?
They could make a huge difference in the price you end up paying.
First, a caveat: There is no one single website that always has the best deal.
Thats just not how this works.
No Interest Til Almost 2027?
Not all sites display all airlines or fares, and occasionally one undercuts its competitors.
Our bottom line: Book early.
Dont book tickets on a Friday.
Be as flexible as possible given your circumstances.
Finally, try a number of digital tools to scout out the best prices.
Vacation fun time is over, and we have to drag our sorry carcasses back to work.
As always, its a matter of supply and demand.
Theres a handy month-by-month chart you’re able to viewhere.
Dont believe the hype.
Theres no magic day, Ott writes.
If there was, no one would ever book tickets on any other day.
Having said that,avoid buying tickets on Friday.
The Wall Street Journal found that ticketsbought on Fridaytend to be 13% pricier than on Sunday.
Because fare sales typically expire by Friday.
The available cheap seats sell out during the week.
Book Your Flight Early, but Not Too Early
Book early.
The sweet spot is about two months before departure,the WSJ reports.
Based on historical data, it determineshow many days in advanceyou should book a flight to your particular destination.
Dont booktooearly, but confirm not to wait too long either.
Booking too early is generally bad, but booking too late is likely worse,Time magazine advises.
Airfare Watchdogmonitors airline websites for deals and sends you email updates about them.
It also links to Google Calendar.
Skyscanner:Yet another flight search engine, it searches for hotels and rental cars, too.
Its a price comparison site, not a travel booking site.
Its particularly useful for researching whetherusing a combination of different airlines and transfersmight save you money.
ITA Matrix:This one is aPenny Hoarder favorite.
It works so well, Google bought the company to use its technology in Google Flights.
Kayak:Like Google Flights, it lets you compare airfare prices for multiple airports at the same time.
(Would it be cheaper to land in Miami or Fort Lauderdale?
Long Beach or LAX?)
Unlike Google Flights, it’s possible for you to book directly through Kayak.
Momondo:This search engine includes independent carriers like Southwest that other search engines omit.
Scotts Cheap Flights:This site is useful for tracking mistake fares and flight sales.
They dont fly to as many airports as the big-time airlines.
You might find yourself flying more.
You might even start earning frequent flyer miles.
That, however,is another story.
Your Turn: What travel website do you use most, and why?
Mike Brassfield ([email protected]) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
Probably not as good as youd like.
It always seems like an uphill battle to build (and keep) a decent amount in savings.
But what if your car breaks down, or you have a sudden medical bill?
Ask one of these companies to help…
